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U.S. | 'I comfort death row inmates in their final moments - the execution room is like a house of horrors'

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Reverend Jeff Hood, 40, wants to help condemned inmates 'feel human again' and vows to continue his efforts to befriend murderers in spite of death threats against his family A reverend who has made it his mission to comfort death row inmates in their final days has revealed the '"moral torture" his endeavor entails. Reverend Dr. Jeff Hood, 40, lives with his wife and five children in Little Rock, Arkansas. But away from his normal home life, he can suddenly find himself holding the shoulder of a murderer inside an execution chamber, moments away from the end of their life. 

Iran hangs 3

Iran has hanged 3 convicted drug traffickers at a prison in the central city of Isfahan, the government-run newspaper Iran reported on Wednesday.

The men were identified as Qodrat, Khan Mohammad and Mostafa and all convicted separately of dealing and carrying narcotics, according to the report, which did not furnish more information.

The hangings bring to at least 270 the number of people executed in Iran so far this year, according to an AFP count based on news reports.

In 2008, Iran executed 246 people, the highest number in any country bar China.

Tehran says the death penalty is necessary for maintaining public security and is applied only after exhaustive judicial proceedings.

Murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery are all punishable by death in the Islamic republic.

Sources: Sapa, AFP, December 30, 2009

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